Stafford supervisors agree to rescope Garrison Road, redirect funds to wedge widening and near-term projects

Stafford County staff presented a biannual transportation update and recommended rescoping the Garrison Road widening project so the county can pay for targeted, lower-cost improvements and apply freed local funds to other high-priority projects.

Matt, a county staff member who led the briefing, told the Board of Supervisors the county has about $100 million in local funds and roughly $129 million in grant funding in its current active program, and that “there are no decisions that need to be made tonight” but staff sought board direction on several funding and scope choices. He recommended a smaller, $20 million rescoped Garrison project—$10 million local matched with $10 million in VDOT revenue-sharing—and said a rescoped approach would free up money for other work. “We recommend the board rethink the project's efficiency,” Matt said, describing a focus on turn lanes, medians, sidewalks and intersection fixes rather than full widening.

Why this matters: staff said the original Garrison Road phase 1 estimate rose as high as $100 million and scored poorly in the most recent SmartScale round; rescoping would allow the county to apply local funds to additional SmartScale or VDOT revenue-sharing applications and to advance wedge‑widening and other safety projects that staff characterized as lower-cost but highly effective.

Details from the presentation and board discussion

- Phase 1 and active program: staff described roughly $57 million in construction work scheduled to begin or…